Many of the books on shamanism are either decades old, simply repeat what is in those books, or are of questionable accuracy. Now, scholar, researcher, and professor Roger Walsh—whose writings and research have received over two-dozen national and international awards and honors—presents new views and studies on the oldest spiritual traditions in The World of Shamanism.

This book is simply the most complete volume that provides an overview of shamanism, its practices, techniques, beliefs, and effects. But it is far more than that. It also examines all of the techniques, using modern research to determine two things: do they really work? And if so, why do they work?

The Truth About Shamanism
You've read some of the claims about shamanic practices. To the believers, some shamans are represented as being superhuman saints or sages. They seem to be able to work miracles. To the doubters, the shamans (or their supporters) are charlatans and con artists, or perhaps even psychotic. The World of Shamanism is the first book to honestly and completely explore both sides of the claims, revealing truths that are both surprising and spiritual.

So You Want to be a Shaman
Becoming a shaman requires more than simply doing a few exercises. It is about coming to understand every aspect of your life—spiritual, psychological, physical, and psychic—from a shamanic perspective. Coming from a humanistic view you'll learn everything you need to know as a shaman: What a shaman is, what it's like to be a shaman, shamanic spirituality, the ecstatic journey, and much more. Along the way you'll learn about:

+ The Hero's Journey
+ The tricks used by shamans
+ The worlds of the shaman
+ Shamanic dreaming
+ Near-death experiences
+ Shamanic healing
+ Out of body experiences

When you finish reading this book, you'll finally know what it's like to be a shaman. It thoroughly reveals all of the principles of shamanism to all who seek the truth.

Comparison with Other Traditions
One of the most valuable features of this book is the broad knowledge of its author that has been collected here. Walsh also examines the phenomena of shamanism from a cross-cultural perspective. He sees shamanism through the lens of psychology, spiritism, the abduction experience, the psychedelic researcher, the mind of the yogi, and the neuroscientific researcher.

There is an experience that is common to shamans, yogis, Pagans, magickians, and contemplatives: seeing spirits. In the training of the shaman, Walsh explains that there are two stages to this. "The first is simply to catch an initial glimpse of them. The second is to develop a permanent visionary capacity in which the spirits can be summoned and seen or felt at will...This is the 'challenge of stabilization,' a challenges that faces spiritual practitioners of all traditions." Learning how to do this—as well as other techniques—will help you no matter your spiritual path.

Shamanism is the oldest spiritual and magical tradition on the planet. Whether you want to learn the techniques to become a shaman yourself, of just to enhance whatever spiritual path you follow, The World of Shamanism is the book that explains shamanism for the twenty-first century. It is an important new resource for students, scientists, researchers, and anyone on a spiritual path. This is the book that is destined to be on the bookshelves of college students and shamanic practitioners. Get it to further your knowledge and have as a vital reference.

I've written a number of books for Llewellyn over the years—believe it or not, my upcoming release is number eight—but far and away the most popular one was my third, The Goddess Is in the Details. And I have to confess, it was my favorite too. (Shhh…don't tell the other books. They'll cry, and I'll have to give them each a... read this article